Volkswagen Turned a Defunct Stadium Into a Junkyard and Pontiac Isn't Pleased

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

After a lengthy death rattle spanning from 2006 to 2012, Michigan’s Pontiac Silverdome finally closed for good in 2013. Its parking lot, however, remains in use thanks to Volkswagen’s legal obligation to buy back scores of diesel cars following its infamous emissions scandal. In stasis since January, the cars have become an unwelcome addition to the deteriorating stadium and the city of Pontiac has opted to sue the property’s current owners for holding them.

While the site’s parking lot is being used for its intended purpose for the first time in years, city officials claim that Triple Investment Group has violated numerous safety codes, zoning ordinances, and a municipal code relating to the proper storage of used vehicles at the property. Six complaints were filed with the 50th District Court in Pontiac on February 27th, roughly a month after hundreds of VWs arrived in the wake of the company’s emission’s crisis.

Now, the doomed diesels number in the thousands.

Patrick Lennon, legal representative for Triple Investment Group and partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, told The Oakland Press that his client has not admitted responsibility to any wrongdoing but does plan on cooperating with the city to reach a mutually beneficial solution.

“Our client is actively engaged and working with the city. We hope to resolve our differences with the city and we believe we are making good progress and working together,” Lennon said. “We are still waiting on a schedule for (the hearing) but we are hopeful that we will resolve the differences in the meantime and further hearings won’t be necessary.”

An initial hearing was planned for March 15th, but was adjourned.

The stadium is currently in lousy condition and has only been used occasionally since 2002, when the NFL’s Detroit Lions relocated to Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Afterward, the Silverdome hosted monster truck rallies and the occasional boxing match or concert but hasn’t seen any real action since 2013. Initial redevelopment goals fell through and plans to demolish the building have been repeatedly pushed back for over a year — fostering animosity among Pontiac officials. The area has once again been slated for redevelopment, although no official plans have been filed with the city and it’s currently occupied by a crop of unsellable Volkswagens.

“The city will not continue to let violation after violation go unresolved,” J. Travis Mihelick, an attorney for the city of Pontiac, said in the letter to the court. “We must have some productive movement, other than promises that have been repeated and broken time and again over the last several years.”

A Volkswagen spokesman told the Detroit Free Press Wednesday that the automaker is storing its repurchased diesels at sites all across the country, including the Silverdome. The plan is to keep the cars at these locations until a vehicle modification is developed that would allow the vehicles to be resold. If no such fix becomes available, the vehicles would then be sent out and recycled.

(Image: Dave Hogg/ Flickr ( CC BY 2.0)]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Whittaker Whittaker on Mar 25, 2017

    If the city of Pontiac owned the stadium, and was generating income by leasing the parking lot to VW, they would be patting themselves on the back for their good governance. There will probably be several meetings that result in what they will call a settlement, which is politi-speak for bribe.

  • Speedlaw Speedlaw on Mar 26, 2017

    warning: If your TDI is gone, the VW claims processors took a page from the mortgage refinance processors after the recession...take papers, lose some, keep asking for more. I've given them the entire title history of the car. The lease...the purchase...the wreck..the buy out....release of lien letters. They tell me the papers are in order on the web site but in phone calls (Customer Service Roulette) they ask for things not on the website. Now they ask for the first sale proof a second time. This is getting stupid. I finally copied my whole file and sent it certified mail. I'll advise if I ever get the $3k check I'm supposed to see. I'm at this point thinking the hassle and incompetence is not a bug, but a feature....

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